nuclear-news

The danger of nuclear plants that are out of sight

The concern arises from new and anticipated developments that will allow nuclear fuel facilities — uranium enrichment technologies — to get so small and so efficient that U.S. surveillance methods can’t spot them.

Why we need to keep nuclear facilities in plain sight, The Hill, By Francis Slakey – 03/02/11 ……… technology over the last few decades that got smaller, more efficient, and easier to conceal. Facilities that manufacture nuclear fuel are following that same trend – one that’s creating a national security risk .

Unfortunately, this is not a theoretical concern. We are already at a tipping point that is troubling both proliferation experts and Members of Congress. The concern arises from new and anticipated developments that will allow nuclear fuel facilities — uranium enrichment technologies — to get so small and so efficient that U.S. surveillance methods can’t spot them. Then, a rogue nation might acquire the plans, covertly build the facility, use it to produce nuclear weapons material, and develop a nuclear weapon without the U.S. ever seeing a thing.

This would be a major and dangerous change from the way things work now……
e are on the brink of losing our ability to detect covert uranium enrichment plants.Here’s one thing the U.S. can do to help keep those facilities in plain sight: NRC can conduct an assessment of the proliferation risks of any enrichment facility before granting a license. With a rigorous assessment, a facility would only get commercialized by assuring that it has some unique detectable “signature.” It may have a distinct infrared or acoustic trace that is evident to our satellite or ground based arrays. Or, there may be a unique component of the technology whose acquisition would indicate the intent to build a facility. Any of those would guarantee that the US would always have the ability to detect the facility, diminishing worries about covert construction or use……

A petition is now pending before the NRC this month, open for public comment, which proposes requiring Nuclear Proliferation Assessments (NPAs) as part of the licensing process. If the proposal is accepted by NRC, then NPAs would become an immediate and effective step in assuring that advanced nuclear fuel technologies are detectable – a strong disincentive to their covert spread.

Why we need to keep nuclear facilities in plain sight – The Hill’s Congress Blog

March 3, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, technology, USA